In the manufacture of paper sheets, including creped tissue paper, a headbox is used to deposit the papermaking stock onto a forming wire, where the stock is partially dewatered to form the paper web. Oftentimes the formation of the paper web is flawed due to the presence of minor damage or imperfections in the headbox apron lip, which create jet disturbances as the stock flow leaves the headbox. Correction of these problems usually requires repair or replacement of the headbox apron lip which can be a difficult and inexact task. Therefore, there is a need for a better means for improving web formation defects caused by imperfections in the headbox lip.